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North Port names city attorney

Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 2:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 5:08 p.m.

VENICE - Looking to establish an in-house legal department, North Port city commissioners decided to ask Fort Myers attorney Mark Moriarty to do the job.

Facts

MARK MORIARTY

Background: Risk manager since 2001 and assistant city attorney since 1996 for the City of Fort Myers; adjunct professor at Edison State College since 1997; general counsel for an exporting company in Portland, Oregon, in 1996; and worked in the insurance industry in New York City from 1988 to 1993.

Education: Law degree from the Widner University School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware; bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware; associate’s degree in risk management from The Institutes, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

After the unanimous vote Tuesday, Mayor James Blucher, City Manager Jonathan Lewis and contracted City Attorney Robert Robinson now will negotiate a contract with Moriarty. The pay will be between $125,000 and $150,000 a year.

“I’m just really excited and looking forward to the opportunity,” Moriarty said Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve been working for 17 years, and this is a great next step.”

He has been assistant city attorney since 1996 for the City of Fort Myers and the risk manager since 2001.

“North Port is how I envision Naples was 25 years ago,” he said. “It’s only 25 percent built out and has tremendous potential.”

Citing his “high level of legal maturity,” Commissioner Cheryl Cook said she believed Moriarty could move the city in a positive direction with the challenges it is facing.

In his application to commissioners, Moriarty said 50 percent or more of his practice has involved municipal law. In Fort Myers, he manages a $5.1 million budget and supervises up to eight employees.

The contract negotiation is contingent upon a reference and background check conducted by S. Renee Narloch, senior vice president of Bob Murray & Associates, who led the search.

There were 29 applicants for the post.

Two other finalists interviewed for the position on Monday and Tuesday in a public forum and one-to-one with commissioners. They were David Migut, senior assistant county attorney for St. Johns County, St. Augustine, and Maureen Sikora, assistant county attorney for the Manatee County Attorney’s Office, Bradenton.

Commissioners decided to choose either Moriarty or Migut, saying both were excellent candidates.

“One did rise above the other, and it was difficult,” Vice Mayor Rhonda DiFranco said.

Moriarty would replace Robert Robinson of Nelson Hesse; Robinson has been the contracted attorney since 2001.

In 2011, the Herald-Tribune reported, Robinson’s billing practices were under fire after billings showed that North Port was paying more for legal work than other cities of a similar tax base in Florida.

The city’s legal bills had doubled since 2006, to about $1 million a year.

The backlash that followed prompted changes to a new contract with Nelson Hesse. It included a $450,000 retainer, the largest government legal retainer in the area, in exchange for a reduction in billable hours, the paper reported.

EARLIER: Fort Myers attorney Mark Moriarty is North Port's pick for the city's first inhouse city attorney.

Commissioners today selected Moriarty, risk manager for the city of Fort Myers, after narrowing the candidate list to two: Moriarty and David Migut, senior assistant county attorney for St. Johns County.

The city plans to negotiate a contract with Moriarty contingent on a background check.

Moriarty would replaceRobert Robinson of Nelson Hesse; Robinson has been the contracted attorney since 2001.

In 2011, the Herald-Tribune reported, Robinson's billing practices were under fire after billings showed that North Port was paying more for legal work than other cities of a similar tax base in Florida.

The city's legal bills had doubled since 2006 to about $1 million a year.

The backlash that followed prompted changes to a new contract with Nelson Hesse. It included a $450,000 retainer, the largest government legal retainer in the area, in exchange for a reduction in billable hours, the paper reported.

<p><em>VENICE</em> - Looking to establish an in-house legal department, North Port city commissioners decided to ask Fort Myers attorney Mark Moriarty to do the job.</p><p>After the unanimous vote Tuesday, Mayor James Blucher, City Manager Jonathan Lewis and contracted City Attorney Robert Robinson now will negotiate a contract with Moriarty. The pay will be between $125,000 and $150,000 a year.</p><p>“I'm just really excited and looking forward to the opportunity,” Moriarty said Tuesday afternoon. “I've been working for 17 years, and this is a great next step.”</p><p>He has been assistant city attorney since 1996 for the City of Fort Myers and the risk manager since 2001.</p><p>“North Port is how I envision Naples was 25 years ago,” he said. “It's only 25 percent built out and has tremendous potential.”</p><p>Citing his “high level of legal maturity,” Commissioner Cheryl Cook said she believed Moriarty could move the city in a positive direction with the challenges it is facing.</p><p>In his application to commissioners, Moriarty said 50 percent or more of his practice has involved municipal law. In Fort Myers, he manages a $5.1 million budget and supervises up to eight employees.</p><p>The contract negotiation is contingent upon a reference and background check conducted by S. Renee Narloch, senior vice president of Bob Murray & Associates, who led the search.</p><p>There were 29 applicants for the post.</p><p>Two other finalists interviewed for the position on Monday and Tuesday in a public forum and one-to-one with commissioners. They were David Migut, senior assistant county attorney for St. Johns County, St. Augustine, and Maureen Sikora, assistant county attorney for the Manatee County Attorney's Office, Bradenton.</p><p>Commissioners decided to choose either Moriarty or Migut, saying both were excellent candidates.</p><p>“One did rise above the other, and it was difficult,” Vice Mayor Rhonda DiFranco said.</p><p>Moriarty would replace Robert Robinson of Nelson Hesse; Robinson has been the contracted attorney since 2001.</p><p>In 2011, the Herald-Tribune reported, Robinson's billing practices were under fire after billings showed that North Port was paying more for legal work than other cities of a similar tax base in Florida.</p><p>The city's legal bills had doubled since 2006, to about $1 million a year.</p><p>The backlash that followed prompted changes to a new contract with Nelson Hesse. It included a $450,000 retainer, the largest government legal retainer in the area, in exchange for a reduction in billable hours, the paper reported.</p><p>EARLIER: Fort Myers attorney Mark Moriarty is North Port's pick for the city's first inhouse city attorney.</p><p>Commissioners today selected Moriarty, risk manager for the city of Fort Myers, after narrowing the candidate list to two: Moriarty and David Migut, senior assistant county attorney for St. Johns County.</p><p>The city plans to negotiate a contract with Moriarty contingent on a background check. </p><p>Moriarty would replaceRobert Robinson of Nelson Hesse; Robinson has been the contracted attorney since 2001.</p><p>In 2011, the Herald-Tribune reported, Robinson's billing practices were under fire after billings showed that North Port was paying more for legal work than other cities of a similar tax base in Florida.</p><p>The city's legal bills had doubled since 2006 to about $1 million a year.</p><p>The backlash that followed prompted changes to a new contract with Nelson Hesse. It included a $450,000 retainer, the largest government legal retainer in the area, in exchange for a reduction in billable hours, the paper reported.</p>